New summer camp centered on farming

BARBARAELLEN KOCH FILE PHOTO | The Arts on the Farm Summer Camp is coming to the Hallockville Museum Farm in Riverhead this summer.

A new summer camp is coming to Riverhead this year at the Hallockville Museum Farm.

The museum has partnered with the North Fork Education Initiative’s Peconic Community School to create the Arts on the Farm Summer Camp — a four-week program featuring woodworking, old-fashioned toymaking, crafts, music, organic gardening and other activities that are infused with the spirit of the North Fork’s farming heritage. Children will also learn about dramatic arts and different movement techniques.

Each week campers will show their parents what they’ve learned at camp through different presentations, such as hosting a traditional barn dance to show off their new music and dance skills.

Liz Casey Searl and Kathryn Casey Quigley, the co-executive directors of Peconic Community School in Riverhead, will oversee camp activities while the museum will provide barnyard activities, including introducing children to its sheep, cows and chickens.

“Because each week will be unique, the camp experience won’t become repetitive for children who attend multiple weeks and by attending all four weeks children will gain exposure to a variety of hands-on interactive arts experiences not found at other summer camps,” Ms. Searl said in a statement. “They will work with animals, tend a garden and have classic camp fun.”

Herb Strobel, executive director of Hallockville, said camp scholarships will also be available.

“So many local families are struggling these days and its ‘extras’ like camp that sometimes get cut first out of the family budget,” Mr. Strobel said in a statement. “We invite interested individuals and businesses to make tax-deductible contributions to support the scholarship program. It’s an investment in the community that creates lifelong memories for the campers.”